France to ban smartphone use in schools

There has been much debate about children using smartphones, tablets and mobile devices in general. Some parents are adamant about not allowing their children to have a smartphone until they’re teenagers while other parents fully embrace letting their children own a smartphone.

Lightweight computing devices such as iPads and Chromebooks have made massive inroads in schools and studies have shown that young children are adept at learning technology quickly. Despite the pervasiveness of smartphones, France is cracking down on their use in schools.

Starting in September 2018, children will be allowed to bring their phones to school but will not be allowed to use them until they leave. This new rule will apply to primary, junior and middle schools.

“Sometimes you need a mobile for teaching reasons … for urgent situations, but their use has to be somehow controlled,” said Jean-Michel Blanquer, minister of French education. “It’s good that children are not too often, or even at all, in front of a screen before the age of seven.”

Obviously, the French government is receiving pushback from students, parents and unions regarding the ban.

Philippe Vincent, deputy general secretary of the headteachers’ union, doubts the ban is very pragmatic or logical. He argues the announcement leaves them “dubious” because of the lack of a real issue. Parents and students wonder how this would be enforced with one parent suggesting the schools install a signal blocker instead.

Blanquer suggested using lockers despite the lack of space but Vincent disagreed stating, “Are we going to transform a school into a giant locker? I’ve done a little calculation myself: 5,300 state schools with an average 500 pupils each, that makes around 3 million lockers.”

Education officials are trying to figure out how to implement the ban but could run into logistical issues concerning storing phones and ensuring students receive them back. Some schools already have policies that allow administrators to confiscate phones if used on school grounds.

At any rate, the move seems to be aimed at minimizing classroom distractions and possibly even cheating. As we increase our reliance on mobile devices, it’ll be interesting to see if the ban will hold in the future.

I'm 100% good with this. I work next to a junior high school and every time the bell rings and I see kids walking from one class to another, no one is talking. They're all staring at their devices. This is not a healthy thing by any stretch of the imagination.

BRAVO!!!! Long over due and should be implemented throughout the education systems of the US as well INCLUDING colleges! Our children have become anti-social, poor communications and to put it in a nutshell .... dull! I would treat them just like cigarette's or alcohol and prevent their use before the age of 21 .... but that might be a bit of overkill after all my distant relatives were communicating with smoke signals and there might have been a few teenagers in that ......

I'm 100% good with this. I work next to a junior high school and every time the bell rings and I see kids walking from one class to another, no one is talking. They're all staring at their devices. This is not a healthy thing by any stretch of the imagination.

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You know, I teeter with this mentality. Basically everyone nowadays is a computer addict. The old anti social behavior we deemed in the pre smart phone days has become the norm. No it's not healthy, then again look at television and radio. When they came to be, people probably said the same thing. No one one talks anymore, they just stare into the TV, etc. Despite the contrast, I believe less human interaction is a negative. Then again I might just be getting old?

Despite the contrast, I believe less human interaction is a negative. Then again I might just be getting old?

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I'm 25 years old, I've been working at my company since I was 16 (When I joined this site I believe) and 100% agree with you. Age has nothing to do with it, it simply isn't healthy. I've seen cases of women breaking down into tears if their phone dies. It's insane.

Despite the contrast, I believe less human interaction is a negative. Then again I might just be getting old?

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I'm 25 years old, I've been working at my company since I was 16 (When I joined this site I believe) and 100% agree with you. Age has nothing to do with it, it simply isn't healthy. I've seen cases of women breaking down into tears if their phone dies. It's insane.

Kids care more for likes than many adults and that's really bad. Having kids burring themselves into smartphone screens, hunting funny videos, pictures, or likes instead of a football or basketball ball, is not a good idea. Searching for the calculator app, instead of just grabbing their pencil to do the calculations themselves, even worst.

“When he visited Earth, Tlaloc realized how the human race had gone stagnant. how people had become so dependent on machines that they had nothing left but apathy. Their goals were gone, their drive, their passion. When they should have had nothing to do but unleash their creative impulses, they were too lazy to perform even the work of the imagination.”